Leeds United think positive after promising start to season

Tony Harber

With their initial burst over Leeds United are now in the middle of a brief break satisfied with their efforts so far this season and with fans satisfied with dealings in the transfer window that is now shut.

Uwe Rosler’s men go into the first of the international breaks with a top 10 position gained after the first five games and with a positive feeling following a win at last over Derby County that came after four successive draws.

The players will now be given some down time after coming through a tough schedule in the first three weeks of the season and there will also be more time for the head coach to get out on the training pitch to work on areas of the side he is not completely happy with yet.

Publicly, Rosler has exuded confidence with how his team is developing.

He said: “I think we’ve had a very good start to the season.

“We’ve put ourselves in the right position, where we want to be.

“The performances have already been there. We saw (at Derby) how many good things we did, but we also saw that we are still a very young side.

“We need to add one or two players and then we’ll be in right good shape.”

Rosler was given one of those players he had asked for when Jordan Botaka, nicknamed ‘The Wizard’ because of his dribbling skills, arrived on transfer deadline day.

United lost out on original target Fernando Forestieri after he opted to join Sheffield Wednesday and refused to meet NEC Nijmegen’s £2.5 million asking price for Anthony Limbombe so turned to Congo international Botaka.

The 22-year-old arrives from Dutch side Excelsior for an undisclosed fee believed to be around the £1 million mark and has signed a two-year deal.

On signing he said: “I am very happy, it happened very fast. In two or three days everything was arranged. It was just crazy.

“I knew Leeds were a big club. I looked a few things up and I heard from other people. This is a new adventure for me.”

Botaka is currently away on international duty with Congo and will link up with his new team-mates next week at Thorp Arch after playing against Central Africa. He follows Charlie Horton, Lee Erwin, Sol Bamba, Chris Wood, Tom Adeyemi, Ross Turnbull and Stuart Dallas as United additions for this season and has been given squad number 20.

No more business player-wise was done on transfer deadline day despite late speculation about an Alex Mowatt move to Newcastle, although Leeds agreed to free out of favour forward Nicky Ajose on Wednesday and the newly made free agent was quickly snapped up by Swindon Town.

United are set to make another signing off the field with Paul Hart expected to return to the club as the new head of the academy.

Hart, 62, was in charge when United won the FA Youth Cup in 1993 and 1997 and helped bring through the likes of Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Jonathan Woodgate and Paul Robinson. He has since gone on to manage Nottingham Forest, Barnsley, QPR, Portsmouth, Crystal Palace and Swindon.

Leeds have been looking for a permanent academy boss since Neil Redfearn resigned in July.